Monday, April 17, 2017

Never mind, still slow! CCC 10k

Eh, ignore everything I just said...I'm still slow. A crazy 42:15 at the CCC 10k. You know, 45 seconds slower than my last 10k! All I can do is blame the weather - and it wasn't great. High 70's, humidity in the 90% range, windy. But other than that, it was a good day to run and my muscles felt ready. I just had zero speed.
We parked at my work the morning of the race and jogged to the start. With 20,000+ runners, the start is always a madhouse, and like every single year, I could not find the entrance to the seeded corrals! I ended up walking all the way from the back. Due to the crowds and the heat, I kept my warm up to 2 miles, and couldn't fit in any strides. We were packed in with about ten minutes to go. Finally, we started, and I was boxed in at once. Now, I wanted to go out slow, so a tight first mile isn't so bad, but coupled with the 25mph headwind, I hit mile one in 6:57. Luckily, I'd get some tailwind for the next two miles, before alternating headwinds and side gusts; anyway, it didn't register that I'd run a 6:57, because my Garmin was NUTS again. It read mile one in 6:49! By mile two, I was a full 18 seconds off the clock, and I hit lap to get back on track. Stupid. I struggle with pacing a 10k, as it's not a pace I run often, and I rely (perhaps too much) on my Garmin - this inaccuracy is a huge problem!

A friend sent us highlighted results fromour group.

Once I realized how off my Garmin was, I settled into a race by feel, and honestly, that gave me pretty good results. Not fast, but consistent: I ran the first half in 21:02 and the second in 21:13, and that's with the benefit of a tailwind for miles 2 and 3. So I was actually remarkably consistent, and my first mile was my slowest. Who knew? I actually CAN pace by feel!

After I hit the 5k point, I passed a local runner who runs a similar pace to me, and when she didn't respond, I realized that everyone was suffering in the humidity. I just had to hang on. A few minutes later, my fast friend Jared surged up to me to offer some encouragement. "Keep going girl," he said. "You're slowing down. Stop that." He was pacing another friend, so dropped back again, but it gave me a good boost and I picked my feet up again. By the time we got around City Park, my head was cooking in the sun, and the wind was a factor again. But I was passing people, so I kept plugging away. I caught up to our running group coach (who is running slow coming back from injury), and committed what is an apparent egregious error. We exchanged greetings and I indicated I was having a poor race with a thumbs-down. And I never heard the end of it. I guess this group of runners wants total positivity...I got yelled at. Lesson learned! No thumbs down from now on! The rest of the race was just me pushing forward and fighting a cramp. Not at all fun.

I was super annoyed not to have a good sprint finish, but I just didn't. I ran 42:15 and was honestly surprised to see that. I thought I'd worked harder than that! But it was 80F at the end, and I was hot and miserable, so I guess it makes sense. I'm still disappointed. I finished 35th female, 5th in my age group - so really, it seems everyone struggled. This is a big, fast race, so those stats point to how much the field slowed.

After getting thoroughly sunburned at the after party (did my sunscreen evaporate?!), I did what any disappointed runner does: I immediately registered for another race. Gulf Coast Classic next week, here I come! Even though it's projected to be even HOTTER next week!

5 comments:

I don't think I would worry too much about that. I keep track of the #500 male finisher every year - this year's was the slowest I have ever seen it - :12 slower than last year. Obviously, the conditions were the likely reason why.

We've had a few early mornings in the 60s lately and it just feels so much nicer than the 70s or 80s. I'm struggling with the idea of an August race -- kind of like the idea of tapering in August when summer is at its worst, but that means I've really got to commit now. And reading your race report about temps in the 80s, ugh, it just doesn't sound fun. Nice AG!

Ugh those conditions are awful. You placed well so should be proud of yourself because clearly there were lots of people on the struggle bus that day!!! Nice work! Hope you get better racing temps soon but wish summer coming I am sure it's not going to get any cooler. Send some of those degrees to me!!!

About Me

My name is Grace and my life is needlessly complicated. Things happen to me that just don't happen to other shiny happy people. At least there's never a dull moment in my life!
I live in New Orleans in an old house that creates dirt with my darling husband and a few dead plants. I'm a pharmacist, he's a lawyer. Somehow we're still broke (but Sallie Mae is rich. Hmmm.). I have way too much going on in my life, including: church and Bible study, clothing design/sewing, art of various types, teaching (test prep), jewelry making, running (check out my races page for more info), the occasional intellectual endeavor (research, writing), and cooking. Oh and I work, too, of course. I'm a retail pharmacist heading up the HIV division in our region.
It might seem like this blog is just my complaints...or my races. But it's not. Someday I WILL post something useful, I promise! I hope to share the more interesting aspects of my life and a few tips, tricks, and hints that have saved me a $ or a minute. Perhaps you'll find something you like. I certainly hope so!